Editor’s Note: Friend of Metasip John Kayaian weighs in with a quick review of one of the new entrants to Chicagoland beer: Temperance, and, specifically, its Gatecrasher IPA. We add a few notes here and there, so it makes more sense to do this in quasi-interview format. Here goes.
Dave: What are you drinking today?
John: Gatecrasher, from Temperance Beer Co. in Evanston, Illinois, USA. It’s an English IPA. I’ve had this beer many many times, as it’s one of my top three IPAs in the whole dang universe.
Dave: Wait a minute, if you drink IPAs, and you drink them a lot, this one must be pretty darn good if it’s in the top three. So, what’s it like?
John: For starters, it pours a slightly hazy golden orange with a crisp snow white head, just like a good IPA should. True to the English origins of this style the malt is quite present, but kept in check by a well-balanced hop bitterness.
Dave: The website says that this beer “gets into the sold-out show without a ticket.” How does it do that?
John: Balance. The Midwestern American execution of this particular IPA is evident in the sweet, tropical, citrus aroma. Grapefruit, apricot, a little mango. Overall, its a damn good beer. One of the most well-balanced IPAs I’ve ever had.
Dave: Back to the top three. What are the other two in your Troika of IPA Awesomeness*?
John: So the other two – in no particular order – are Revolution Anti-Hero and Temperance’s limited-availability Threeway.
[Editor’s Note: you can only get Threeway in Evanston venues – Union and Space, the pizzeria and concert-hall combo, and Temperance’s own tap room.]
Dave: What rating would you give it, then?
John: 4.5 stars out of 5.
Dave: Can I have your Temperance hat?
John: No.
Metasip Grade: A-
Expect to pay $7.99 for a six-pack in stores in and around Chicago.
*We haven’t trademarked the term “Troika of IPA Awesomeness.” Yet.
